Retro Review: Jason X

In honor of Jason's big DVD day, I thought I'd pull out my old review of the lunatic's only science fiction massacre. Call me nuts, but I think it's a stupidly fun film.

How much you enjoy the more "disposable" forms of entertainment (horror comic books, video games, "Jason" movies) generally depends on how high your expectations are. These pieces of "brain candy" are usually considered somewhat 'lowbrow' affairs, so the key here is not to base your opinions on anything higher than a visceral level. Is Jason X a cleverly-plotted, masterfully-directed and emotionally challenging film? Absolutely not. Does it deliver the gory goods for the loyal fans with a minimum of inadvertant stupidity? Surprisingly, yes. (That's the key in a movie like this: if the 'stupidity' is intentional, much can be forgiven.)

"Jason in space." OK, it's a stupid idea. As someone who's spent a lot of his childhood with uber-slasher Jason Voorhees, I was a bit skeptical about the idea of my favorite stalker being transplanted into an outer-space setting. But with the leaps in logic, sense, and simple good taste we've come to expect from this unending horror series, I suppose the deep-space setting* is not that big a leap. We are, after all, talking about a villain who's been killed a dozen times, hitched a boat-ride to New York City, and even got turned into some slimy alien creature. So if you're going to argue the "logic" of Jason in space, you may be better off skipping Jason X entirely.